Plot: The Wolfpack is back. The third (and supposedly last) edition to the comedy franchise finds friends Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Doug (Justin Bartha) intervening on behalf of forty-something Daddy's boy Alan (Zach Galifianakis). Alan's been off his meds for six months and the death of his father Sid (Jeffrey Tambor) only makes things worse. However, on a road trip to a rehabilitation center in Phoenix, the four run afoul of gangster Marshall (John Goodman). It appears their old friend Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) stole twenty-one million dollars from Marshall and now the Wolfpack has three days to find Chow or Doug dies. Along the way the group will travel from L.A. to Tijuana and back to where it all started--Las Vegas. And when the Wolfpack is on the prowl, all bets are off.
Review: There's a line Bradley Cooper's Phil says late in The Hangover Part III: "I've got an idea...but you're not gonna like it." After watching the absolute debacle that was Hangover III, I thought Phil's line was apt. The studio execs had an idea to do a third Hangover movie. Turns out however that there's not a lot to like.
Whereas the original Hangover film was one of the better comedies of the last twenty years, the third installment is the polar opposite of the first. Cliche, often boring, and lacking in virtually any humor, director Todd Phillips' film fails on almost every level and rarely elicits a smile let alone a laugh.
The Hangover Part III clues you in very early that it is going to be a bad film. Within the first five minutes the movie managed to rip off both The Shawshank Redemption and The Fugitive. The fact that this occurs before the opening credits end, shows you how lazy the movie intends to be...and it delivers on the sloth believe me. Todd Phillips and Craig Mazin's script all goes downhill from there. Ridiculous dialogue, belabored jokes, convenient plot devices--it's all here in this turd pile. It's as if they took the characters from the first two films and decided to put them in a crime caper/heist film. It failed miserably. Phillips' pacing is clunky and labored, somehow turning a one hour and forty minute film into something that felt like Titanic.
The most glaring flaw with The Hangover Part III is simple: IT'S NOT FUNNY! I mean I barely smiled. The "funniest" part of the film involved a post-movie sight gag involving Ed Helms' character Stu. But by then I was so disgusted with the rest of the film that it evoked only a chuckle from me. If I didn't know better I would have thought that the producers of the film were INTENTIONALLY trying to not be funny.
All three of the major actors--Galifianakis, Cooper, and Helms--received a reported $15 million apiece to reprise their roles. To say the three were cashing in a paycheck is like saying Bill Bellicheck likes hoodies. It's an understatement of massive proportions. Going through the motions? These guys moved like snails! The reluctance these three had to do a third film leapt off the screen. With the exception of Melissa McCarthy's Cassie (a pawn shop owner who plays Alan's love interest) everyone's acting performance was abysmal. Even Ken Jeong's Mr. Chow became annoying after awhile. (And of course Todd Phillips just had to show us his dong again. Unnecessary Mr. Phillips.)
About the only redeeming quality from The Hangover Part III was Lawrence Sher's cinematography which brought the Mexican countryside and Las Vegas to vibrant life. But when the best aspect of a comedy is the cinematography, you know you're in a bad spot.
In short, The Hangover Part III is the absolute nadir of the franchise. For the love of God Hollywood put The Wolfpack out to pasture and never let them return.
My rating: 2/10
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